Highway to Hays: Band scenes boom up and down I-70
Indra. // Courtesy photo
“Back in my day, we had real music!”—a phrase that, in some capacity, we have all heard from some relative or friend at one point during our lives.
To some, this means smoking grass and drinking a six-pack on the lawn of a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert, Michael Jackson becoming the number one artist in the world, or The Beatles having “long hair.”
Every one of these acts had a first practice, a first show with an audience of three friends, and were otherwise considered nobodies and miscreants. But they all started in that same place.
When speaking about America’s great music cities, everyone and their mother talks about Los Angeles, Houston, Nashville, Memphis, and so on. Kansas has never been in the limelight, spare a few acts such as—well, Kansas. But this is the beauty of the Sunflower State’s music. It has this untapped potential, like a rare mineral that has yet to be discovered. It is diverse and ever-changing, just like all of the other “big” music scenes.
“Surprisingly, there’s a lot more in Kansas than I expected there to be in terms of music. Of course, you’ve got to drive six hours to get to half of it, but I like all of it. Comparatively to anywhere else I’ve been, it’s probably a little better, if not on par,” says Tillie Hall of MellowPhobia.
One great thing about moving east throughout an entire state is the people you meet along the way. I have been fortunate enough to come to Kansas City from my hometown of Wichita. Over the course of the last few years, I have shared many beers and smokes with a few of Kansas’ coolest acts, some of which are featured in this piece.
Kansas is filled to the brim with talented artists. Whether it’s Hays thrash or Lawrence indie/ska-punk, there’s something for everybody.
Hays
One of the greatest spawns of garage acts and future stars would be the hometown with nothing to do. I’m not talking any shit on these cities, but you can’t get much further out there than Hays, KS.
From isolation came the slamming hardcore of Billy Ks and the spacey alt of Starslinger. One of Hays’ biggest and most eclectic acts, Parl, fuses their own brand of hip-hop with fuzzed-out guitars and beats akin to Tyler, the Creator.
“I would describe the Hays scene as a really tight-knit group,” says Parl. “You get this same core crowd and a handful of people who are new every single time you perform. It’s like hanging out at a family reunion with the cool cousins, if you know what I mean.”
Parl started creating music around 2019 but began getting serious and releasing music at the beginning of 2022. Early on, they leaned heavily into hyperpop, taking inspiration from acts such as 100 Gecs or Charlie XCX. As time has passed, their taste has expanded, and their music reflects that.
“I like exploring. My first EP was very synthesizer-heavy and funk-oriented. But my newest album, An Open Letter from Adrian Parl, I describe as secular gospel. The project I’m working on right now, Chronically Online, is all trap and heavy metal influenced. If you don’t like what I’m doing right now, then come back because you might like what I’m doing in the future,” says Parl.
In some ways, modern music is not much different than it was in the early days of pop culture. Starting out, there’s no money, no following, and one big mission. To some, that mission is to sell out Arrowhead. To others, it’s to make enough money to buy another case of beer.
Wichita
Quite possibly the next breakout band is Wichita’s own Social Cinema—a five-piece indie rock group touring across the country, representing the 316 with pride.
“When we were coming up, it felt like we were on an island, but that island was dope as shit,” says Social Cinema drummer Logan Bush. “So I feel like there’s way more of a community vibe with Wichita, more so than you would get out of a major city. It’s small enough where you know everybody and you can hang with all the bands that you like, but it’s big enough where there’s opportunity to still move up and become a bigger band.”
One of the many shared traits of Kansas music is the collaboration and camaraderie between the bands. While this isn’t unique to Kansas, it has allowed the scene to thrive further in the underground as bands support each other. Many musicians play in multiple groups, with tons of creative overlapping.
“We’ve helped out other bands, and other bands have helped us out,” says Bush. “Back when we toured as a three-piece for our debut album, we hired a bunch of our friends from other groups to play guitar for us. And that was a lot of fun because they bring the energy of their band into ours. And so I think it’s cool to see other groups supporting each other without contests or anything like that. Everybody wants to see everybody doing good.”
Topeka
Two hours northeast of Wichita and one hour west of KC, Topeka sits in some sort of weird cultural black hole. In a city best known for its bad roads and being the governor’s home, not many would think there to be much of anything regarding a music scene. And in a way, you would be correct to assume so. However, Topeka hosts a handful of bands, rappers, and DJs like Preston Walker.
Walker, aka DJ Alphabeta, is an electronica artist and venue owner. He produces his own music as well as the music of others and has become one of the strongest pillars in the Topeka scene.
DJ Alphabeta draws a lot of influence from German industrial house music, but his latest projects, “Never Was Alive” and “The Fall of Babylon,” see the artist heading in a different direction sonically.
“My DJing style is just noise, hard techno, and house,” says Walker. “But in terms of producing, I have really turned towards ambient, abrupt noise. Because of that, I’d say that I’m more than meets the eye. When people see me, they don’t expect me to play the music I do. You don’t really hear about many Black POC noise musicians here in the Midwest,” says Walker.
For years, Walker has worked tirelessly to bring up Topeka’s scene, which struggles as it sits so close to Lawrence. However, his venue, Black Chamber DIY, is widely considered by many to be one of the best in the state, hosting well over 60 local, regional, and national acts last year alone.
“The scene is growing, but it’s growing at its own pace. For so long, Topeka was kind of divided. But now we are finally starting to work together, and I’m excited to see what will happen,” says Walker.
Lawrence
Opposite Topeka, Lawrence has arguably one of the most prolific scenes in Kansas in terms of artists and iconic venues. Indie outfit Indra is one of the latest groups to form within the city. Influenced by artists such as Paramore, Indra creates ethereal music that is as dynamic as it is easy to listen to. As a group of multiple classically trained musicians, they are beginning to truly stick out in a scene that’s spoiled for choice.
“Indra is a really spontaneous band,” says Indra singer Ellie Bates. “Everything we’ve done has been very much on the fly. We’re very calculated in the way we create music, but all of the ideas are on a whim.”
Since the ‘70s, Lawrence has been a top choice for both touring and local bands alike. It’s home to historic venues like The Bottleneck, Replay Lounge, Liberty Hall, The Granada, and countless DIY spaces. For Bates, the legendary venues, bands, and safe spaces, coupled with Lawrence’s forward-thinking attitude is what makes it so special.
“The charm within Lawrence comes within that community itself and its love for the arts. Even the school district here really emphasizes how important the arts, music-making, and creating are. I think that a lot of the musicians from Lawrence kind of get this idea instilled in them from a very young age that art is something you can do, and they’re gonna encourage you to do it,” says Bates.
Kansas City
Being a city with so much cultural diversity and opportunity, the Kansas City scene has continued to grow and is as diverse as ever. Bands like MellowPhobia have thrived here, and for frontwoman Tillie Hall, it comes second to none.
“There’s so much good music in KC, it can be hard to navigate. If you want to see someone, there are like 10 shows a night here. And for bands, once you make that initial leap, it becomes this tight-knit community,” says Hall.
MellowPhobia is part of the new guard of KC music, playing what they describe as landlocked surf rock. Formed in Pittsburgh, they moved here looking for something more.
“Pittsburgh felt very one track, almost like a lot of the bands there are kind of playing very similar music to each other. I think Kansas excels in that in that we have so much music diversity. I mean, I’ve heard incredible indie rock, surf rock, hip-hop, folk, and R&B. There’s just so much of everything. I feel like Kansas and the Kansas City scene, especially, has a flair. It’s is a melting pot of all kinds of music.”
